Gratitude

I woke up to a familiar setting. A spinning fan was blowing cold air onto my face, and next to it was a single lightbulb.

It's that room again. Kind of embarrassing. Of the two times I've been here, I've always started in the infirmary.

When I tried to push myself up, I immediately fell back down. My body feels so heavy, and I subsequently remember why.

Holiday activated her code. I still can't even fully process what had happened. I felt something weighing down on my body. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't lift myself back up. I could only chalk it up to one thing: gravity manipulation.

How fitting for someone like Holiday, a person who has absolute authority over one's every movement—a leader.

"How're you feeling?" asked someone to my left.

I carefully tilted my head to avoid any further pain. There, I saw Zephyr sitting on a stool right beside me with legs crossed and an elbow on the table.

"A little weak, hard to breathe, but I'll manage," I replied.

"I see," she said. "That's good to hear. Try not to move. I'll get you something to ease the pain."

She went over to another table and began scrounging around, picking up small bottles and reading their labels. After a minute, she settled for one and attached it to a gun-like device.

Her hands reached for the sheets that covered me and dragged them down, revealing my chest wrapped in bandages. She pressed the barrel of the gun right next to my heart and pulled the trigger. A rejuvenating feeling washed over me. My breathing stabilized, and the pain had nearly gone.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"Don't mention it," she said.

Zephyr sat back down and simply watched me with apathetic eyes. Maybe that's her normal face, but it makes me a bit uncomfortable when she stares at me like that.

"Could you not stare at me so intensely?" I asked.

"No can do. Captain's orders were to watch you and make sure you don't hurt yourself doing something stupid."

"I won't."

"Good. Saves me a bit of effort then."

That loyalty of hers is scary. Even for such a minuscule order like that, she follows it as diligently as possible.

"Hey... Can I ask you a question?" I hesitated to say.

"What is it?" she said.

"Why do you guys keep telling me to go home and never come back? Is it really because you care that much about me? Or is it because of Nelia?"

Her eyes trailed away as if to construct a response.

"To be honest, I'm not sure," she sighed. "A little bit of both, I suppose. Holiday would be able to answer that better than me."

That's as honest of an answer as I was expecting. Looking back, Holiday was the only one who kept telling me to leave.

I took a deep breath and picked myself up.

"Strider," Zephyr chided.

Despite her protest, I stood. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Holiday's code is extremely dangerous. Even augmented humans can't fully recover in such a short amount of time."

"I'll be okay. Right now... I need to see Holiday."

Her eyes were shifting, yet she still seemed hesitant to let me go. If she wanted to, she could easily force me back down. Only the gods know why she isn't doing that right now.

"Are you sure...?" she asked genuinely.

"Hah, of course," I chuckled. "If I can walk, I'm fine. That's always how it went for me."

She shut her eyes for a brief moment, and when they opened, she nodded her head.

"Haaa... Alright," she sighed. "I'll take your word for it. Follow me."

With that, she led me through the camp. Among the defects sprawled all over the place were some who weren't there before.

One particular man caught my attention. His huge body was roughed up, his clothes were tattered, and his arm... was augmented. He's that guy I saved back at the refinery.

Our eyes locked momentarily. A massive grin appeared on his face as he ran up to me.

"Hey, kid!" he gratefully greeted me with that deep voice of his. "Glad to see you made it out."

"And you as well," I said. "How're you holding up?"

"The new arm will take a little getting used to, but... doesn't beat that I'm alive right now, and it's all thanks to you."

"Oh, mister!" a squeaky voice cried.

I turned to see a little girl running at me with flowers in her arms. With her arms out, she latched onto my leg and lifted her head with a smile. She's that little girl from the refinery as well.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed. "Thank you so much for saving me and Papa!"

A sudden warmth began to wash over me. I've saved so many people already, and every time, they endlessly showered me with gratitude, yet I felt nothing. It was a given that these people shouldn't have been in those situations. I wasn't doing a favor. I was simply taking their lives back for them.

However, as I stand here now with this little girl, I feel genuine happiness. I knelt down next to her and patted her head.

"It was my pleasure," I smiled, pointing a finger at the man. "Is this your papa?"

She nodded her head. "Uh-huh!"

"Your papa is gonna keep you safe no matter what, but you have to be a good girl and listen to him. Okay?"

Once again, she threw her head up and down.

"Good."

"Let's go, Marianne," the man called over to which his daughter took his hand. "Thanks again, Strider."

Before they left, the little girl broke free from her father's hand and rushed back. From the small bouquet in her arms, she pulled out a tiny lily and handed it to me.

"Is this for me?" I asked.

"Yeah!" she grinned.

I gently reached for the lily, twirling it by the stem. I was never the type to like flowers. Everywhere you go in the Golden District, there's a patch just sitting there. They're planted, they grow, and they'll eventually wither... kind of like humans.

However, there are special cases. When I graduated from high school, Mother brought me flowers to celebrate. I made fun of her for it. Nonetheless, it was nice. This time was no different.

"Thank you," I said to the girl. "I'll keep it with me forever."

She held up her pinky. "Promise?"

I reached out my own pinky and wrapped it around hers. "Promise."

With that, she ran off with her father, and they disappeared into the crowd. I couldn't stop looking at the small lily.

No matter how hard I tried, the smile on my face wouldn't leave. Funny that I'd receive flowers from someone other than Mother. Now, I need to figure out a way to keep my promise.

Zephyr tapped on my shoulder. I turned around to see her holding a tiny glass capsule.

"It's a stasis chamber," she said. "Minerva and I developed them as a way to preserve things that would normally erode with time."

"... Eh...?"

"It'll keep the lily alive for a while."

"Do you carry these around all the time?" I chuckled.

"Just take it."

I grabbed it and carefully placed the lily within. After shutting the lid, Zephyr took it back and pressed two small buttons on the side. It gave off a small clicking sound before a gush of air spewed out.

"How long does it last?" I asked.

"Don't know," she replied. "We made it around three years ago and all of the items we kept are still as pristine as the day we encapsulated them."

"Sick."

I slipped the capsule into my pocket and turned to continue walking. Right as I did, I saw Holiday standing right there with her arms crossed.

A lump immediately formed in my throat. Was she standing there the whole time? Why didn't she say anything?

"If you're done here, let's go," she said.

As she turned to walk away, I inconspicuously let out the quietest breath of air. She doesn't look as mad as she did before, but it still scares me.